SEATTLE — Shortstop Jean Segura might be hurt but, well, he’s not hurting.
The Seattle Mariners announced a five-year contract extension Wednesday with Segura that includes a club option for 2023. It buys out one year of arbitration eligibility and four years of free agency.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal is believed to be valued at $70 million for the five guaranteed years with a $17 million club option for the 2023 season. It also contains a no-trade clause.
“This is a good opportunity for me to be here for a long time,” Segura said. “I feel like this is home for me. And as a player, you choose where you feel comfortable and what feels like home for you.”
Segura pointed to his close relationship with second baseman Robinson Cano in obtaining a no-trade clause. Segura has often cited Cano’s help not only in aiding his on-field play but also in recovering from the 2014 death of his infant son.
“Now, I get to spend a lot of time with the guy who’s helped me the last two years,” Segura said. “Everybody knows Robby helped me as a player and as a person. I can’t ever repay him for how good he’s been to me and to my family.
“It was angels came into my life.”
Cano is under contract with the Mariners through the 2023 season.
“For me, it’s good to play alongside a friend,” said Cano, who was one of several players who attended the news conference. “Knowing that I’ve got six more years left on my contract, and I hope I spend the next six years with him.”
General manager Jerry Dipoto pointed to the new deal as a sound investment in an established star who is entering what are typically the best years of a player’s career.
“We’re buying a six-year stretch of Jean’s career,” Dipoto said, “which will stretch, including this year, from age 27 to potentially his age 33 season. That’s a good buy for the Mariners.”
Segura is currently on the disabled list because of a high right ankle sprain suffered June 1 in a slide at second base. Despite the injury, he still has sufficient plate appearances to be the American League’s leading hitter with a .341 average.
“He’s a hit collector,” Dipoto said. “Whether it’s a good pitch or a bad pitch, he finds a way to put a barrel on it. He plays a heck of a shortstop, too. Jean has all of the tools to be a star-level player, and he’s been that for the last year and a half.”
Dipoto said the idea of an extension for Segura started as soon as the Mariners acquired him in a Nov. 23, 2016, deal from Arizona with outfielder Mitch Haniger and reliever Zac Curtis for pitcher Taijuan Walker and infielder Ketel Marte.
“We just wanted to see how he transitioned onto our club, into our stadium and into the American League,” Dipoto said. “It went pretty well.”
Segura’s new deal roughly parallels the club’s previous agreements with Cano and third baseman Kyle Seager, whose contract runs through 2021 with a club option for 2022.
“We’ve talked about the core group that’s here,” Dipoto said. “And our belief that this isn’t a short window of opportunity to compete. This is another example of how we wanted to express that.
“We believe in this team. We believe in these players, and we believe in Jean Segura as our leadoff hitter and our shortstop for the foreseeable future.”
The initial prognosis for Segura’s injury called for him to miss a month or more, but he said he expects to return within a few weeks.
“I don’t think it’s going to be too long,” Segura said. “The ankle is really good right now. I’m on the bike right now. Exercise in the pool. Some icing to get the swelling down. Maybe some baseball activities later in the week.”
That investment could soon be paying dividends.
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